As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), then Reed Elsevier CEO, Sir Crispin Davis, endorsed the CEO Water Mandate. The initiative brings together companies from around the globe to address water management.

As estimated by the UNGC, more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water, while 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Water scarcity is linked to poor education, poverty, disease, and increasingly, conflict. Companies have a role to play in advancing water management.

By joining the CEO Water Mandate, Reed Elsevier commits to setting meaningful water reduction targets and tracking and reporting water usage.

We spotlight our direct water consumption in the Reed Elsevier Corporate Responsibility Report and through internal environmental campaigns led by Green Teams, employee environmental groups. Water was the focus of World Environment Day 2007. Which launched with a message from Sir Crispin. A special competition rewarded employee water improvement ideas with the winner garnering a water collection system to reuse rain water for plants and other purposes.

To understand water and other environmental issues in our supply chain, we conduct annual engagement surveys with key suppliers.

We are committed to making a positive contribution on water through our business activities. Staff at Reed Exhibition’s flagship show, World Travel Market (WTM), created Just a Drop – www.JustADrop.org. WTM is an annual exhibition for the global travel and tourism industry and Just a Drop its official charity. With help from WTM, Just a Drop has raised more than £850,000 for clean water and health education programmes, assisting nearly one million children and their families in 27 countries around the world.

We further understanding of water issues through hundreds of our products including books like A Practical Approach to Water Conservation for Commercial and Industrial Facilities, Integrated and Participatory Water Resources Management, and Water Supply; and journals such as Water Research, Agricultural Water Management, and Advances in Water Resources.

As part of the CEO Water Mandate we are working alongside members on water-related supply chain issues; collective action; public policy; and community engagement.

Click here to read our annual UNGC Communication on Progress.